COMMITMENT
PASSION EXPERIENCE
Formulated from Skiing Legacy
ABOUT
A Skiing Legacy
Blink Alpine was born from a lifetime spent outdoors — and from loss.
Motivation
In September 2025, we lost my mother, Becky Schaefer.
Mom loved watching ski racing. In the later years it became harder for her to watch, understandably worried about the extraordinary injuries my brothers and I seemed determined to accumulate along the way. But when we were young, she was the one who made it all possible.
She would rally us out of bed at 4:30 a.m., 3:30 a.m., sometimes even 2:30 a.m. so we could make the two- or three-hour drive to the next race. Those early mornings are etched deeply in my memory — cold starts, long drives through the dark, skis rattling in the back of the truck, and the quiet excitement of race day waiting for us.
We loved racing, and she made sure we had the chance to do it.
Who We Are
The Schaefer family has spent multiple generations in the ski industry. We grew up outdoors — ski racing, coaching, mountain biking, canoeing and kayaking, fishing, hunting, sailing, and working in the mountains.
Since 1976, the Schaefers have operated Berkshire East Mountain Resort in western Massachusetts. Over the decades, ski racing has become an integral part of the mountain’s culture and community.
For us, the mountains have never just been a place to visit. They are where we learned discipline, resilience, and respect for the environment — lessons that continue to shape everything we do.
A Dedication
I am deeply grateful for the love, life, and time I was able to share with my mom. She was a remarkable person who left a lasting impression on anyone she met — especially on her community and those she taught at the local elementry school — through the generosity, leadership, and unconditional care she gave to others she left the world a better place.
This work — and the products now being developed under Blink Alpine — are dedicated to her.
WHAT SETS US APART
NEW ZEALAND
Beginning in 1992, my brothers and I started spending nearly half of each year working, training, and living in New Zealand. Each May, just after the Northern Hemisphere winter had ended, we would pack up our skis and fly south to Christchurch, where we worked, coached, and trained at Mount Hutt Ski Area.
Life there revolved entirely around skiing.
We were on snow five to six days a week, and the pace was relentless. Mornings started early — up at 5:00 a.m. so we could be on the hill and training by 7:00 a.m. We would train until around 11:00, take a quick break, and then head back out to coach, teach, or help run programs for the rest of the day.
It was a cycle of skiing, coaching, and training that never really stopped.
One of the incredible aspects of Mount Hutt was the chance to train alongside many of the top race teams in the world who traveled there during the Southern Hemisphere winter. On any given day, you could find yourself sharing a lane with World Cup athletes.
I remember training slalom alongside Armin Bittner of the German National Team when he injured his knee for the final time. He was in tremendous pain but refused to take a toboggan ride down the hill.
Instead, he limped over to one of the ski patrol snowmobiles, climbed on, started it up, and drove himself down the mountain. In classic ski racer fashion, he essentially commandeered the sled and got himself off the hill…I think he knew he was done.
It was a small moment, but it perfectly captured the mindset you see around elite ski racing — toughness, stubbornness, and a refusal to quit, even when the day clearly wasn’t going your way.
That was the kind of toughness and determination you saw around elite ski racing every day.
Those seasons in New Zealand — living simply, pay check to pay check, skiing constantly, and learning from some of the best racers in the world — were formative years that shaped my understanding of the sport, life, and the way I raise our kids today.
Mya B. Schaefer
Founder, Blink Alpine
Skiing & Racing Experience
We know skiing. We know skis. We know alpine competition — and we know speed.
For four generations, the Schaefer family has been deeply connected to the ski industry. Ski racing has always been central to our philosophy: that through racing, young skiers learn not only how to become exceptional athletes, but also gain the discipline, resilience, and confidence that can shape the course of their lives.
For us, racing has never been just about results. It has always been about building strong skiers, strong character, and a lifelong connection to the mountains.
With more than 45 years of combined coaching and racing experience, I started Blink Alpine to meet the needs of racers, coaches, ski technicians, and parents who constantly struggle to find the right race wax for changing snow conditions.
Blink Wax is the result of years of trial and error — testing, experimenting, refining formulas, and learning from the snow itself.
A Family Legacy
My father, Roy Schaefer, served as Owner and General Manager of Berkshire East Mountain Resort from 1976 to 2016. Under his leadership, the mountain became a place where ski racing, community, and outdoor culture could thrive.
Image: Roy Schaefer, 1964 — Boyne Mountain Ski School.
Roy was the only American instructor on an otherwise all-Austrian ski school. Each summer he traveled south to teach at Portillo Ski Resort, one of the world’s legendary high-Andes ski areas.
He was there during the historic 1965 storm, when massive avalanches destroyed much of the resort just a year before the 1966 World Championships. On another dramatic day, he ski the toboggan down the steep slopes of Portillo after Billy Kidd suffered a broken leg during training.
Those experiences—teaching, racing, and living in the mountains during the early years of modern ski racing—are part of the legacy that shaped our family’s connection to the sport.
The lessons learned from decades on the mountain — racing, coaching, and working in the ski industry — are the foundation on which Blink Alpine is built.
NEXT GENERATION
Today, our kids and all of us continue to spend a lot of time outdoors — skiing, racing, mtb’ing, hiking, sailing, climbing, and working in the mountains.
Portillo Chile 1966 World Championships Photo Gallery
Below are some of my Dad, Roy Schaefer’s Photos from when he was working in Portillio, Chile during the 1966 World Championships held 60 years ago this August. More soon.
